A report from Republican members of a Congressional foreign affairs committee released Monday claims to have uncovered evidence suggesting the virus that causes COVID-19 was “accidentally released” from a Chinese lab.
The report on the origins of COVID-19 authored by Republican members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee focused exclusively on the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese laboratory suspected to have played a role in the virus’ beginnings.
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Evidence collected and reviewed by Congressional investigators overwhelmingly suggests SARS-CoV-2 mistakenly leaked from the Wuhan lab before September 2019, the report said.
Investigators based their conclusions “on the preponderance of available information, the documented efforts to obfuscate, hide, and destroy evidence, and the lack of physical evidence to the contrary.”
That evidence, the report said, revealed scientists at the lab genetically manipulated the coronavirus, which they first discovered in a Chinese cave between 2012 and 2015.
Committee members allege researchers at the lab worked with the Chinese government and “potentially American citizens” to cover up evidence of the virus’s origin to suppress any global discussion of a possible lab leak. It calls on China to provide any evidence to contradict allegations and exonerate its citizens.
“It must be assumed … the Chinese Communist Party prioritizes preserving [power] over the lives of its own people and those around the global suffering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report said, calling on China to provide any additional evidence.
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The report calls on Congress to pass legislation to fund efforts for pandemic prevention and sanction top officials at the Wuhan lab. Additionally, it recommends that the White House create an international standard for “laboratory biosafety” before funding any future projects.
“It is incumbent upon the United States and like-minded countries around the world to ensure accountability and implement the reforms necessary to prevent [China’s] malfeasance from giving rise to a third pandemic during the 21st century,” the report concludes.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the ranking Republican member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led the investigation.
President Biden asked intelligence agencies to further investigate the virus' origin in May. Dr. Anthony Fauci has said the lab-leak theory at least deserved to be considered.
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